The present invention refers to a device for carrying a milking member, which includes at least a teacup and which, via a flexible conduit member, is connectable to a milking machine arranged to provide a relatively low pressure, wherein the device includes a support element, which is fixedly mounted to or at a milking box arranged to receive an animal to be milked, and an arm arrangement, which is pivotably connected to the support element and arranged to support the milking member at least in connection with the application of said teacup to a teat of said animal, wherein the arm arrangement is moveable from a first position in which the milking member is located beside said animal, to a second position, in which the milking member is located below said animal. The invention also refers to a method for carrying a milking member, which includes at least one teacup and which is connectable to a milking machine via a flexible conduit member, by means of a device, which includes a support element, which is fixedly mounted to or at a milking box arranged to receive an animal to be milked, and an arm arrangement, which is pivotably connected to the support element and arranged to support the milking member at least in connection with the application of said teacup to a teat of said animal.
A plurality of various such devices and methods for carrying a milking member are known in the patent literature. Such carrying devices, which often are named services arms, are in typical cases in connection with manual application of teatcups intended to carry the milking member when the milking member is moved from a position beside the animal to be milked to a position below the animal.
The milking member is released from the service arm by the milker holding the milking member with his one hand and applying the teatcups with his other hand. During the milking proper, the milking member is hanging freely below the udder. The milking member normally includes a so called claw. The claw is connected to the teatcups via a respective short milk conduit and arranged to collect the milk from the different teats and convey it in a common long milk conduit to a milk collecting member. With its present design, the claw is however relatively heavy to handle for the milker. In addition, there is a risk that the teatcups will come into contact with the ground when the milking is finished and the teatcups are removed from the teats.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,421 discloses a device for carrying a claw with four teatcups. The claw is via a flexible conduit member connected to a milking machine, which is arranged to provide a relatively low pressure. The device includes a support element, which is fixedly mounted in or at a milking box arranged to receive an animal to be milked, and an arm arrangement, which is pivotably connected to the support element and arranged to support the milking member at least in connection with the application of said teacup to a teat of said animal. The arm arrangement is moveable from a first position, in which the milking member is located beside said animal, to a second position, in which the milking member is located below said animal. However, the known arm arrangement offers no support for the claw when the milker is going to apply the teatcups to teats.